COVID-19 & Coasters: Coronavirus Impacts on the Amusement Industry

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As @Zachary pointed out, if parks are not able to maintain proper CDC guidelines, they should be closed. I mentioned earlier how different states had placed theme parks under different timelines for reopening. Florida was one of the earliest; however, they have an approval system where the parks needed approval from the locality and state by providing a plan and guide as to how they will open safely.

I think Florida needs to come down hard on SEAS. They pitched these new procedures to help prevent the spread of the disease. Sadly, SEAS failed to enforce their procedures and because of that Florida needs to send them a warning to either fix it or shut down again until they can fix it.

If Disney and Universal can have teams of roaming employees constantly remind guests to wear their masks, so should SEAS. Yes, it takes money and possibly hiring and bringing on new people, but that is the cost of running a business during these times. Either they make the investment, or just not operate.
 
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I also wanted to mention that other states are giving theme parks an arbitrary date or timeline they can reopen. There is no regulation or approval on how the parks should operate or prevent the spread of this disease. This is a huge mistake in my opinion. Because of this, parks could open as if nothing ever happened and could potentially have the virus spread like wildfire.
 
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It's really not helping parks to not follow their safe opening procedures. If the virus starts spiking again they will be the first ones to be shut down again and any responsible government will not allow them to rush to another re-opening with empty promises a second time.
 
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Zachary said:
For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re correct. If that is true, then regional parks are not able to safely open right now and states should require that they remain closed.
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No state that I'm aware of is forcing parks to mandate masks all over the park, and many parks have chosen not to have a mandatory mask requirement. Some states, such as VA, mandate masks indoors, but that policy is much easier to enforce since there are typically park employees at indoor spaces.

Trying to manage mask wearing on pathways and queues at a regional park that isn't typically that heavily staffed is not going to be a very realistic endevour, unless the park significantly increases prices to cover the increased staffing and security needed. Disney and Universal can maybe do this with their far larger staff, but I don't see Six Flags, Cedar Fair, etc. have the funds to manage masks strictly park-wide.
 
VonDerrick said:
As @Zachary pointed out, if parks are not able to maintain proper CDC guidelines, they should be closed. I mentioned earlier how different states had placed theme parks under different timelines for reopening. Florida was one of the earliest; however, they have an approval system where the parks needed approval from the locality and state by providing a plan and guide as to how they will open safely.

I think Florida needs to come down hard on SEAS. They pitched these new procedures to help prevent the spread of the disease. Sadly, SEAS failed to enforce their procedures and because of that Florida needs to send them a warning to either fix it or shut down again until they can fix it.

If Disney and Universal can have teams of roaming employees constantly remind guests to wear their masks, so should SEAS. Yes, it takes money and possibly hiring and bringing on new people, but that is the cost of running a business during these times. Either they make the investment, or just not operate.
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Florida allowed other parks to open without mandatory mask policies (e.g. Legoland), so it's hard to see the state being able to do much since there's no state regulation on their wear. The only consideration would be whether SEAS insurer mandated the mask policy as part of coverage (note: this is speculating), they might have some sway, but I can't see how the state would do anything. SEAS would simply modify there re-opening plan with the state and cite the approval of other parks without mandatory mask policy as a relevant decision.
 
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@rswashdc If they required SEAS to submit a plan for approval and then SEAS did not follow that plan, that is practically lying to the government. Therefore, they could revoke their approval for reopening based on the fact that they lied and did not follow through. It doesn't matter what other parks were approved for. That is between the park and the government. If SEAS wanted to drop the mask requirement, they should have resubmitted a new plan for approval.

Also, your solution of having masks only permitted around employees is much like saying guests are permitted in backstage areas if there are no employees around. A rule is a rule, whether or not it gets enforced 100% or not. If you were to just simply say masks are required, then wherever an employee walks around, they should remind everyone to put their masks on. Yes, people could get away with not wearing a mask, but generally as employees walk around, they should constantly remind guests to keep it on.

@Nibbins You are correct, it should greatly motivate parks to enact these safe procedures for their own greater good; however, when something isn't mandated; especially something that could cost a business money, it tends to get ignored greatly.

Overall, to reach 100% compliance is just simply impossible for just about any place; however, just because you can not reach that goal does not mean you shouldn't try. Is 70% just as good as 30%? It certainly isn't 100%, but I'd rather them achieve 70% than just say "Fuck It!"
 
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rswashdc said:
No state that I'm aware of is forcing parks to mandate masks all over the park, and many parks have chosen not to have a mandatory mask requirement. Some states, such as VA, mandate masks indoors, but that policy is much easier to enforce since there are typically park employees at indoor spaces.

Trying to manage mask wearing on pathways and queues at a regional park that isn't typically that heavily staffed is not going to be a very realistic endevour, unless the park significantly increases prices to cover the increased staffing and security needed. Disney and Universal can maybe do this with their far larger staff, but I don't see Six Flags, Cedar Fair, etc. have the funds to manage masks strictly park-wide.
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Actually, Maryland is requiring masks, social distancing, approved plans, and a variety of other measures for parks to open.

Here are the specific mask guidelines:

“Require face coverings, including for children older than 9 years of age if appropriate, when interacting with other employees or guests, particularly if social distancing cannot be assured.“

Here is the full set of requirements:

 
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Nicole said:
Actually, Maryland is requiring masks, social distancing, approved plans, and a variety of other measures for parks to open.

Here are the specific mask guidelines:

“Require face coverings, including for children older than 9 years of age if appropriate, when interacting with other employees or guests, particularly if social distancing cannot be assured.“

Here is the full set of requirements:

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These are best practices. Jolly Rogers sent out their reopening information and it specifically doesn’t require guests to wear masks - employees only.
 
VonDerrick said:
@rswashdc If they required SEAS to submit a plan for approval and then SEAS did not follow that plan, that is practically lying to the government. Therefore, they could revoke their approval for reopening based on the fact that they lied and did not follow through. It doesn't matter what other parks were approved for. That is between the park and the government. If SEAS wanted to drop the mask requirement, they should have resubmitted a new plan for approval.

Also, your solution of having masks only permitted around employees is much like saying guests are permitted in backstage areas if there are no employees around. A rule is a rule, whether or not it gets enforced 100% or not. If you were to just simply say masks are required, then wherever an employee walks around, they should remind everyone to put their masks on. Yes, people could get away with not wearing a mask, but generally as employees walk around, they should constantly remind guests to keep it on.

@Nibbins You are correct, it should greatly motivate parks to enact these safe procedures for their own greater good; however, when something isn't mandated; especially something that could cost a business money, it tends to get ignored greatly.

Overall, to reach 100% compliance is just simply impossible for just about any place; however, just because you can not reach that goal does not mean you shouldn't try. Is 70% just as good as 30%? It certainly isn't 100%, but I'd rather them achieve 70% than just say "Fuck It!"
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I don’t think SEAS is trying to lie or get around a mask policy that they implemented in their own accord, though it’s possible they used it simply as a marketing tool. Enforcing a policy that is unpopular with a sizable percentage of guests is going to be problematic without sufficient staff and excess customer demand to come to the park in general. Disney may not care if a mask policy pushes away a percentage of guests since they can fill the parks anyway. SEAS doesn’t necessarily have that luxury to be so strict with their customer base and could very well be playing both the pro and anti mask crowd to get customers in the door.
 
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rswashdc said:
I don’t think SEAS is trying to lie or get around a mask policy that they implemented in their own accord, though it’s possible they used it simply as a marketing tool. Enforcing a policy that is unpopular with a sizable percentage of guests is going to be problematic without sufficient staff and excess customer demand to come to the park in general. Disney may not care if a mask policy pushes away a percentage of guests since they can fill the parks anyway. SEAS doesn’t necessarily have that luxury to be so strict with their customer base and could very well be playing both the pro and anti mask crowd to get customers in the door.
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If we assume for a moment that you could be right (which, for the record, I certainly don't think is the case), that is disgusting and I hope governors shut them down till there's a vaccine.
 
Zachary said:
If we assume for a moment that you could be right (which, for the record, I certainly don't think is the case), that is disgusting and I hope governors shut them down till there's a vaccine.
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It’s hard to say with SEAS. I‘m not impressed at all with their business practices and ethics of late (passes, not paying vendors), so them talking out of both sides of their mouth on masks wouldn’t surprise me.
 
rswashdc said:
I don’t think SEAS is trying to lie or get around a mask policy that they implemented in their own accord, though it’s possible they used it simply as a marketing tool. Enforcing a policy that is unpopular with a sizable percentage of guests is going to be problematic without sufficient staff and excess customer demand to come to the park in general. Disney may not care if a mask policy pushes away a percentage of guests since they can fill the parks anyway. SEAS doesn’t necessarily have that luxury to be so strict with their customer base and could very well be playing both the pro and anti mask crowd to get customers in the door.
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I feel like this is exactly the thinking of SEAS parks.....and the reason places like Fun Spot have no mask requirements.
 
Its the same as many of the stores I see, signs on the door saying masks are mandatory but inside guests and someplaces employees not wearing masks. I walked into a chain autoparts store the first day or so of the mandate we will call "O". Lady said "do you have a mask" to which I replied "no". She says "you have to have a mask in here" so I said "ok I will go over to Advance" and turned toward the door, her reply.....what do you need? I got all the parts I needed with no mask. That shows that when it comes to losing sales masks dont matter to some businesses. I wasnt mad at heror the store...its the states rules and they are welcome to follow them but customers have choices.
 
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WDWRLD said:
Its the same as many of the stores I see, signs on the door saying masks are mandatory but inside guests and someplaces employees not wearing masks. I walked into a chain autoparts store the first day or so of the mandate we will call "O". Lady said "do you have a mask" to which I replied "no". She says "you have to have a mask in here" so I said "ok I will go over to Advance" and turned toward the door, her reply.....what do you need? I got all the parts I needed with no mask. That shows that when it comes to losing sales masks dont matter to some businesses. I wasnt mad at heror the store...its the states rules and they are welcome to follow them but customers have choices.
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You're just proving that business that are by their very nature motivated by profit over public health are incapable of slowing the spread of a virus. What's your point?
 
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